Matthew Whitworth-Aylmer, 5th Baron Aylmer, (24 May 1775 – 23 February 1850) was a British military officer and colonial administrator.

Napoleonic Wars

Aylmer was gazetted ensign in 1787, lieutenant in 1791 and major in 1800, after being held in a French prison for six months in 1798. His career continued as colonel in 1810, being aide-de-camp to

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

between 1810 and 1812 and then major general in 1813. He was present at most of the battles in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

. In 1814, following service in the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

and the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, he was appointed adjutant general of British forces in Ireland, where he remained until 1823.

North American administration

After reaching the position of lieutenant-general in 1825, Aylmer was, in 1830, appointed commander of British military forces in North America as well as

Governor General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, ...

and

Lieutenant Governor of Lower Canada The lieutenant governor of Quebec (; , ) is the representative in Quebec of the monarch, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada. The lieutenant governor of Quebec is app ...

. Lord Aylmer had no previous experience as a civil administrator and no political experience. He was unable to pacify the growing demands in

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

for

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive br ...

and, in 1834, the radical Assembly of

passed 92 ''resolutions of grievance'' including a demand that Aylmer be recalled. Lord Aylmer exacerbated ethnic tensions in

by favouring the English over the French. The deterioration of the situation led to his recall in 1835. His administration may have been a contributing factor to the

Lower Canada Rebellion The Lower Canada Rebellion (), commonly referred to as the Patriots' Rebellion () in French, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837–38 between rebels and the colonial government of Lower Canada (now southern Quebec). Together wit ...

of 1837.

Return to England

Returning to England, Aylmer was promoted to the rank of general in 1845, but he never obtained a

British peerage A Peerage is a form of The Crown, crown distinction, with Peerages in the United Kingdom comprising both hereditary title, hereditary and life peer, lifetime titled appointments of various Imperial, royal and noble ranks, ranks, which form ...

(his dignity was in the

Irish peerage The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

) or another administrative post. He died at 15

Eaton Square Eaton Square is a rectangular, residential garden square in London's Belgravia district. It is the largest Squares in London, square in London. It is one of the three squares built by the landowning Grosvenor family when they developed the main ...

Belgravia Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a dangerous pla ...

, on 23 February 1850 and was buried at

West Norwood Cemetery West Norwood Cemetery is a rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery. One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the " Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of ...

. Aylmer's sister Rose Aylmer was the inspiration behind the poem of that name by

Walter Savage Landor Walter Savage Landor (30 January 177517 September 1864) was an English writer, poet, and activist. His best known works were the prose ''Imaginary Conversations,'' and the poem "Rose Aylmer," but the critical acclaim he received from contempora ...

Family

His sister was Rose Whitworth-Aylmer who travelled with their aunt, Anne Barbara, and her husband

Sir Henry Russell, 1st Baronet Sir Henry Russell, 1st Baronet (8 August 1751 – 18 January 1836) was a British lawyer. He was made a Privy Counsellor in 1816, during the reign of George III. The Russell baronetcy of Swallowfield in Berkshire, was created in the Baronetage of ...

to India in 1798. She fell ill with cholera and died in 1800. She has been immortalized by his friend and the famous British poet

in his Rose Aylmer eulogy. General the Right Honourable Matthew Whitworth, 5th Lord Aylmer, G.C.B., married Louisa Anne Call, daughter of Sir John Call, Bart. on 4 August 1801. When her husband was appointed in 1830 to administer the government of Canada, as Governor-General, from February 1831 to August 1835, the couple entertained at the Castle of St. Louis, Quebec. During the cholera epidemic of 1831–32, she was interested in the relief of the sufferers. Since she was interested in education, she regularly visited and bestowed prizes in the schools. She served as the patroness of the Societe d'Education sous la direction des dames de Quebec. She died on 13 August 1862.

References

* Works cited *Obituary, The Times, 26 February 1850

External links

* Archives of Matthew Whitworth-Aylmer, 5th Baron Aylme
(Matthew Whitworth=Aylmer, 5th Baron Aylmer and family fonds, R2517)
are held at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is the 16th largest library in the world. T ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aylmer, Matthew Whitworth-Aylmer, 5th Baron 1775 births 1850 deaths 18th-century English nobility 19th-century English people British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Governors of British North America 5 Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath British Army generals Coldstream Guards officers Burials at West Norwood Cemetery English people of Irish descent 56th Regiment of Foot officers